Founding member and saxophonist/vocalist for Malaria! (Exclamation point officially part of the band name. I'm not yelling at anyone.) She passed back in March, but like everything Malaria!-related, I'm late catching up with the news. I knew of them back in their early-80s existence, but never heard them until decades later and was suitably impressed. Nina Hagen gets all the credit for being the crazy German post-punk lady, but Malaria! was
five crazy German post-punk ladies, and were a huge influence on European electronic and industrial music and by extension the American branches of those genres, but don't get the credit they deserve.
They kind of remind me of Polyrock, if Polyrock had lost their damn minds and were five hot West Berlin mädchen instead of buttoned-up New Yorkers.
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www.youtube.com]
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Anyhow, in a better world, Bettina's passing would've been big enough news that I wouldn't just stumble across it almost two months late.
